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1976 Pontiac Firebird Full View

1976 Pontiac Firebird - Blue Belle

Pontiac's Special Edition Sky Bird Was A Daring Move To Build A Sporty Car For The Ladies
March, 2010
By Kevin DiOssi
Photography by Kevin DiOssi
1976 Pontiac Firebird Full View
As chauvinistic as it sounds, historically the car hobby has been dominanted by males. There's no telling why this is, but it just makes all those "car girls" that much more special. There is, however, a large populous of females out there with gasoline running through their veins and an undeniable passion for style, performance, and all things automotive. With this in mind, Pontiac reached out to build a Firebird for a market that other manufacturers had overlooked-the female market.

1976 Pontiac Firebird Sky Bird Package
Debby Manning owns this pristine... 
   
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1976 Pontiac Firebird Sky Bird Package
Debby Manning owns this pristine example of the special appearance Sky Bird package for the Esprit Firebird (code W60), which cost $385 in '77 money. Since the package was geared toward females, the decals and colors were very feminine. The bird decal is pinstriped and two tone.
By the time the '77 model year rolled around, plans were finalized for the package. The official color name for the upper body paint was Lombard Blue (code 21 borrowed from the Astre), with Bright Blue lower accent paint (code 58), despite the fact that Bright Blue was actually darker than the upper color. No other Pontiac came with the Bright Blue accent color. Pinstriping was applied to the nose, hood, roof, sail panels, rear deck, and spoiler, and around the lower perimeter of the Firebird, to split the upper and lower paint colors. These were accompanied by stacked Sky Bird script at the front, rear, and sail panels and by ornate blue birds on the sail panels and rear spoiler. Later models in the Lady Bird series (Red Bird and Yellow Bird) would not have stacked text.

1976 Pontiac Firebird Lombard Blue
The most dominant color on... 
   
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1976 Pontiac Firebird Lombard Blue
The most dominant color on the Sky Birds was Lombard blue. The lower half of the car was painted a bright blue, accented by a dark blue pinstripe. Trans Am-style pinstriping was used all over the car, down the hood, and around the headlights and windows. The $51 optional rear spoiler is almost a necessity for Second-Gen cars, especially on this Sky Bird since the decals and script are prominantly displayed.
Debby's Sky Bird
Pontiac certainly hit its target market with these blue belles-even thirty years later, as Debby Manning, a receptionist in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, and owner of this '77, fell in love with the Sky Bird at first sight. As an avid enthusiast, Debby was passionate about Pontiacs and musclecars, was continually out on the show circuit, and locked eyes on a Sky Bird for the first time at a Cincinnati-area show in 2007. "I talked to the lady who owned it and I fell in love with that car. I added it to the list of cars I wanted to buy," she says. She had been looking for the right one for many years after selling her '74 Formula and regretting it ever since.

A few months later, she settled on a red '69 Firebird convertible. No, it wasn't a Sky Bird, but it made her happy, and she loved to show it off. The following March (2008), it was entered in the Cavalcade of Customs Car Show in Cincinnati. On the last day of the show, a gentleman named Larry Hay struck up a conversation with her about Firebirds. "He wanted to know if I would be interested in buying another car. Since I just got my convertible, I really wasn't in the market," she recalls. But the man insisted she take a look.

The car in question was a Sky Bird, it belonged to his wife, Elaine, and she would only sell it to a woman because it was "meant for a woman."

"I calmly told him that I may be interested, but inside I was jumping up and down. I gave him my number and couldn't wait for him to call me back," Debbie said.

1976 Pontiac Firebird Dash Panels
In 1977, Sky Birds dash panels... 
   
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1976 Pontiac Firebird Dash Panels
In 1977, Sky Birds dash panels were initially woodgrain, but eventually switched over to a Trans Am-style engine-turned. Most came with velour interior, as seen here, but some came with blue vinyl. Also note the blue Formula steering wheel, only available on Sky Birds.
1976 Pontiac Firebird Radial Tuned Suspension
1976 Pontiac Firebird Four Barrel Pump
Thankfully, this Sky Bird... 
   
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1976 Pontiac Firebird Four Barrel Pump
Thankfully, this Sky Bird was blessed with Pontiac power. Its 350 four-barrel pumps out 170 hp, 35 more than the base 301 two-barrel and 305 Chevy two-barrel's 135.

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